20 Minutes to Clean(er)

I admit it. My motivation wave has crested for this cleaning stuff. I knew it would. Now the real work begins. How to stay clean when I’d rather do just about anything else than declutter and clean my house.

Today, I tried the egg timer method. Well, actually, I don’t have an egg timer (does anyone any more?). But I do have a timer on my iPod Touch that I carry with me most everywhere. So I set the countdown timer for 15 minutes, and I face my kitchen with grit in my teeth and determination in my eye. Really. I can do anything for 15 minutes, and that was my mantra today.

I followed a self-imposed one-touch rule when it came to decluttering. Basically, if I touched it, then I had to put it in its proper place. While this is a good rule that does lead to a straightened and organized space, I found I was back and forth to the kids’ rooms over and over because I’d pick up something that needed to go in a toy box or a closet, I’d come back with empty hands, just to repeat my steps. Once I could see the counter near the telephone again, I grabbed the multi-surface spray and went to town. At the end of 15 minutes, I’d cleaned the kitchen to (mostly) sparkling, and I was working on the buffet, table, and shelves where we eat our meals.

I felt good about the progress, so I reset the alarm for five more minutes and kept going. By the end of my 20 minute stint, I felt good about how my kitchen looked and how it got there. I can do 20 minutes. Really, I can.